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Five Simple Steps to Protect Yourself and Your Organization While Working and Studying Remotely
As many employers and educational institutions – large and small – take steps to lessen the spread of coronavirus, it’s important to make sure networks and data are protected as well. Just as we ramp up our public health hygiene practices to quell the spread of disease, now is also time to make sure we have a newly remote workforce and education system armed with best cyber hygiene practices to help prevent further disaster.
GCA’s Director of Operations, Shehzad Mirza, has provided us with a few relatively simple recommendations that you can put in place quickly:
- Avoid use of public Wi-Fi. Instead, use private home networks or mobile hotspots. If public or shared Wi-Fi must be used, use a VPN while accessing company or educational databases, email, and other services while limiting access to sensitive services and data.
- Use a protective DNS service to block malicious websites. Quad9 is a freely available service that is quick and easy to set up. It is also available for Android devices.
- Make sure employees, students, and educators are using strong passwords or – better yet – have two-factor authentication in place for accessing accounts and services. More tips and tools here.
- Protect your devices. If working in a public location, don’t leave computers, tablets, and phones unattended.
- Finally, when working in a public location, use a privacy screen to prevent shoulder surfing.
Visit gcatoolkit.org for more information and resources for keeping your organization or institution safe.
